MAJOR SPOILERS THROUGHOUT Minor, seemingly insignificant touches matter in the realm of sci-fi costume. They inspire curiosity, ignite recognition and establish a believable setting in which a story can unfold. Costume designer for Star Trek Into Darkness, Michael Kaplan, obviously grasps this concept. Returning as reboot costumer, he keeps things simple yet effective. A splash of colour here, a recognisable neckline there; again he manages to appease lifelong Star Trek fans without alienating newcomers. Kaplan and director J.J. Abrams’ smartest move is to acknowledge but not overplay Star Trek heritage. Never be too self-referential, never try too hard not to be; it’s a balancing act. Uniforms worn by the crew…

The highly anticipated season five premiere of Game of Thrones aired across the globe this week, giving us tantalising glimpses of where our favorite characters are now. We saw two brief scenes of Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner), who had a major makeover at the end of Season Four. With this new direction in her character, where will she end up in Season Five? In this little addendum to our previous analysis of her wardrobe, we explore the character clues in Sansa’s striking new look (costume design by Michele Clapton). Sansa has not had it easy so far. During the last few seasons she has been trapped in King’s Landing, tortured……

Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) is the quintessential evil queen, right up there with The Queen from Snow White and the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland. Or is she..? Throughout Game of Thrones we have been given clues as to Cersei’s motivations and character, and by the end of Season 3 she has become, partially at least, a sympathetic character. While Cersei was not involved with the Walder-Frey-Marry-One-Of-My-Daughters plotline, which famously leads to the gruesome ‘Red Wedding’; that plot really drove home that point that in this world women are only worth how beautiful they are. Even Robb Stark, one of the so-called good guys, was horrified at the…

The highly anticipated season five premiere of Game of Thrones aired across the globe this week, giving us tantalising glimpses of where our favorite characters are now. We saw two brief scenes of Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner), who had a major makeover at the end of Season Four. With this new direction in her character, where will she end up in Season Five? In this little addendum to our previous analysis of her wardrobe, we explore the character clues in Sansa’s striking new look (costume design by Michele Clapton). Sansa has not had it easy so far. During the last few seasons she has been trapped in King’s Landing, tortured……

A new VLOG looking back over the still stunning costume design on of Inception. We revisit sci-fi classic Inception a decade after its release with MVP, costume designer Jeffrey Kurland. A new trailer for Christopher Nolan’s Tenet has dropped and it’s undoubtedly going to be the best film EVER. The latest MCU smash-hit, Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), features one of the strangest villains in the wallcrawler’s rogues’ gallery. When it comes to movies based on comic books, the outfit a character like Mysterio wears is not supposed to work on-screen. On the printed pages of comics, the outfits can be impractical and outlandish, and nothing is more of those…

All the Clothes on Film posts in a big long list – scroll down there’s loads – or you can search via keyword in the box below. Older posts may have been attacked by the typo monster. Inception: Costume Style Analysis VLOG Inception Revisited with Costume Designer Jeffrey Kurland New Trailer for Tenet, aka The Best Film Ever Made First Trailer for Tom Hardy’s Capone: Inspirational Lockdown Robe Attire Richard Burton is The Dandy Villain Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of Just About Everyone) Oscars 2020: Red Carpet Livestream The Lighthouse: All Hail a High Waist Trouser The Not so Colourblind Costumes of The Personal History of David…

There is little point in Clothes on Film delving too deeply into the first trailer for director J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars sequel The Force Awakens, mainly because it is just so much speculation at the moment, which of course is part of the fun, but also because there are far smarter (or more interested) minds on the Internet who will do a better job. That said how can you watch that trailer and not have an opinion? So here are ours, and with no contribution whatsoever from Star Wars VII costume designer Michael Kaplan. If he told us anything at this stage he would be thrown in the Sarlacc pit…

This week this happened in costume… Diana Rush, Alpha Papa and now Diana, costume designer Julian Day is everywhere at the moment (good, because he’s very talented). Here Day explains a little about undertaking what must have been one of the trickiest costume jobs of the year. Revenge All about Emily Thorne’s (Emily Van Camp) wedding dress. Preview: Jill Ohanneson designed it herself. Trish Summerville Video: The 2013 Stylist award winner looks understandably bemused throughout Pop Sugar’s excitable interview. Riddick Helen o’Hara skilfully pulls apart the film’s frankly disgusting misogyny. Northern Costume Social Event Advice for those in the TV/film costume game. Toronto International Film Festival Leaving aside award friendly…

Clothes on Film were fortunate enough to be invited to a display of costumes from the latest adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express (2017), plus interview its costume designer Alexandra Byrne. An Oscar winner for Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2008), and well known for her period design work, since 2011 Byrne has become connected to the world of Marvel, her most recent project being Doctor Strange in 2016. Here she chats candidly about recreating the (mainly) glamorous side of the early 1930s and the challenges that faced her and her team. Alexandra Byrne on shooting in 70 mm: “Director Ken (Branagh) and I did Hamlet (1996) together which was……

Where to start with Penny Rose? Pirates of the Caribbean? Evita? King Arthur? Most recently of course 47 Ronin (directed by Carl Rinsch). You do not hire Penny Rose for something small. This is not to say she won’t work on independent and low budget projects, just that her CV is becoming increasingly packed with huge scale period and/or fantasy studio movies – basically the kind of pictures that would make most costume designers weep. Multiples, armour, uniforms, plus Ms. Rose practically always builds from scratch. Not a fan of ‘shopping’ or even slightly interested in fashion, Penny Rose is old-school hands on, no-nonsense and no fear. Nonetheless, there is……